The Lioness
by WinterDuchess
Summary: Lea Flanagan is a feral mutant who lives in the forests of Alaska with her grandfather and older sister. She's an Alpha Female by nature, so how will she take to being the mate of fellow Alpha, Victor Creed? Follow as Lea meets new mutants, reunites with old friends, and figures out her bond with Sabretooth!
1. Prologue

**A/N: Heyo! Just a few things before you begin reading. First off, I apologize for any typos in this chapter, or any future chapters. I try to reread the stories as much as possible to find mistakes, but I miss things, so yeah. Second off, I'll be attempting to give little facts about the characters or the process it took for me to create the character at the end of each chapter. Thirdly, the version of Victor Creed I will be using is the one where he is portrayed by Liev Schreiber. And finally, thank you for reading. Hope you enjoy. (:**

* * *

 **5 Years Ago**

The vast boreal forests of Alaska were silent as the sun slipped down the horizon. The sky that overlooked the mighty pines was lit up by the hundreds as more and more stars illuminated the darkness above. The animals of the forest disappeared into their homes, now sound asleep, while the predators lurked in the stillness. The peace of the woodlands was interrupted by the faintest snapping of twigs.

A young woman with medium, auburn hair walked through the forest, towards an opening that seemed to be producing light. Her hands touched every thick oak trunk, and she stopped just at the edge of the clearing. Her golden hues flickered to the trunk beside her when she felt an indent on it. She slowly ran her hand along it. The tree's base was scarred. It had two sets of markings on it. Claw marks. The top marking was thicker, while the bottom one was slimmer, but both were very deep. She had felt ill suddenly when she looked at her surroundings. Each tree that she had passed on the way towards the clearing, held the same marks on it.

The redhead looked back to the meadow, and took in the view. Across from herself, a great distance away, she saw two people sitting in front of a bonfire, which was the source of the light. As she began walking closer, the better her view became, enough so that she could identify the two people. The first individual was an older man, middle aged, with dark gray hair and blue eyes. He held a mangled rabbit in his claws, his long, blood glistening claws. Beside him was a girl, perhaps a young adult, with long, light brown hair and the same vivid blue eyes as the man she was seated next to. Like him, there was a rabbit hanging loosely in her claws as she tore through it with her fangs.

The brown-haired girl looked at the redhead as she sat down across from them. There was an arch in her brow, when the girl cleared her throat and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Her blue hues narrowed sharply as she observed the older woman.

"What?" she growled in annoyance.

Startled by the hostility in the younger female's tone, the golden-eyed girl jumped. She rubbed her palms on her knees, and she cleared her throat again. The effect the younger one had was obvious. She intimidated the redhead.

"Ca-Can't we eat something other than raw meat?" she asked nervously.

"You're a fucking feral, Roxanne, be grateful we have such a limitless supply of meat," the blue-eyed girl snapped.

"Lea, language," the older man beside her warned as he licked some blood from the corner of his mouth. He shifted in his seat, tossing the carcass of the rabbit into the fire then faced Roxanne. "I understand you are still adjusting, dear. It is difficult, I know, but please try to see it from our side. Lea and I have been living like this for almost a decade, we simply don't question it. In time, and once you become more intune with your own instincts, you won't either."

"What if I don't want to live like this?" Roxanne asked quietly. She summed up what little courage she had, and spoke further. "Just because we have animal-like mutations doesn't mean we should live like them, Granddad! We shouldn't have to live like cavepeople! Why not live in society like norma-"

A roar ripped through Lea's chest, and tore from her lips. It was powerful. Authoritative. And fear-inducing. Roxanne could feel a weight falling over her entire being the moment the roar left Lea. It was the influence an alpha had on a lesser member of the pride. Roxanne's inner beast couldn't help but obey Lea's command. She fell silent and looked to the fire to avoid Lea's icy eyes.

"Lea! I have told you many times not to force your influence on Roxanne!" her grandfather reminded sternly. "Now Roxanne, I have lived in society for centuries. It is not worth it. You are forced to hide your claws, and fangs. You need to suppress your instincts and urges, it is exhausting. Here we do not need to hide. We can run freely."

The two sisters were silent as they took in what their grandfather had said. Roxanne was curious about whether or not he was right. He was an expert on ferals, but did he ever actually have an encounter with another mutant? And the instincts thing, she wasn't very intune with them, but she was also only in her first cycle.

She looked across the fire to Lea, who was about to enter her third and final cycle. Lea was one with her mutation, and had complete control. She wondered if Lea ever struggled with her humanity while she went through the cycles. That was a question for a different time though as Lea got to her feet and disappeared into the cave that she had called home since she was ten years old.

* * *

 **Fact For The Chapter: Lea's name comes from Leo, the Zodiac sign. She picked the name when she was ten years old, because of her love for lions, and she associated Leo with lions. It is pronounced as Lee-Ah.**

 **Please leave your thoughts in a review to help me better my writing. Thank you.**


	2. Chapter 1: A Human Mate?

**Present Day**

The sun broke over the mountains, its warm rays washing over the forest at the mountain's base. There was a slight chill in the air as the forest made its transition from winter to spring. The crispness caused Roxanne to stir, then wake up. She looked around the cave, only to find it empty. She got to her feet and searched around for a thicker hide, then threw it on when she found one.

After she was warmer, Roxanne stood just outside the cave entrance. Through the fog, she saw two silhouettes approaching her. The first shadow came into view. It was a stag, with the strong scent of fear seeping throughout its body. Chasing it was Lea, who was running lazily on all fours. Her claws were long and tore chunks of dirt out of the earth, while her fangs were bare and ready to dig into the stag's hot flesh.

The gleam in Lea's eyes made Roxanne's stomach turn. It was a predatory gaze, one of bloodlust and sadistic joy. It was the look of an animal. A look Roxanne felt she'd never fully adjust to seeing. And as if the look that shined in Lea's eyes weren't sickening enough, Roxanne watched as Lea executed her hunt with expertise and efficiency.

Lea slung the large herbivore over her shoulders, then lifted it. Without much of a struggle, she carried the stag over to Roxanne. Her breathing was even as she placed the stag at Roxanne's feet.

"Start up a fire," Lea ordered then crouched down to the buck, and began skinning it.

"Where's Grandad?" Roxanne asked curiously as she started gathering twigs.

"Went to get some water. I told him there was no point though, I mean, you can _smell_ how juicy this thing is," Lea said, taking a sharp inhale as she tore a leg from the rest of the body.

"I never found them to be that juicy," Roxanne commented nonchalantly, taking the leg from Lea.

"Probably because you're a little bitch who cooks the damn thing," she hissed, slicing through the torso and digging until she pulled out the ribs. "I don't think you'll ever be a _real_ feral."

Roxanne frowned at her sister's harsh words, but knew that it was probably the truth. Even after all the time she had spent in the woods, she still wasn't as intune with her instincts as she had expected. Lea would constantly remind her of her weaknesses and even as Lea was inhaling the meat from the ribs, she looked at Roxanne in a silent form of judgement as she roasted the leg in the fire.

"Smells like the hunt went very well," the girls grandfather stated as he walked over to them. He handed each girl a pile of wet moss, before sitting down beside Lea on the log. He ripped off another leg from the stag and began eating it. "Mm… Good work, Lea."

The younger feral nodded at her grandfather's praise, but didn't say much else. She was too busy sucking the meat from the bones, then throwing them into a pile. It was a silent meal, with each of them sorting through their own bone stack. The silence was only interrupted by Roxanne, who seemed very keen on getting an answer to something. "Granddad, can you tell us about Nana Lois?"

Lea became stiff at her sister's request. Since the day Roxanne had come to join them in the woods, it had been a silent agreement never to speak about their human family, or humans at all. Her icy gaze shifted to their grandfather, whose face softened the moment he heard his wife's name.

"Your grandmother…" he whispered, as if the mere thought of her brought him back to a different time. "She was an extraordinary woman. The love of my life. My mate."

"Mate? What does that mean?" Lea inquired, becoming intrigued by the change in demeanor of her grandfather.

"Like, soulmate?" Roxanne asked in an excited manner, she always was a sucker for love stories.

"Hm… I don't think I'll be able to explain it in a manner that you girls will understand it, but I suppose I could try," he said, rubbing the scruff on his chin. "Mates are incredibly rare, yet significant for ferals. They are someone you share an unbreakable bond with. You feel whether they are in danger or not, even when you aren't around them."

"How do you know someone is your mate?" Roxanne asked.

"Their scent," he answered. "The first time you smell your mate it is… overwhelming. You feel an instant comfort in them. We're drawn to them. Drawn to protect them. To be near them. To claim them."

"Claim?" Lea arched a brow with a dirty look on her face.

"Uh… Yes, Lea… Claim," he said uncomfortably.

"Lea, hush!" Roxanne scolded before looking back to their grandfather. "Tell us about you and her!"

A sharp growl left Lea, and her lip curled. Was she just told to be quiet by someone lesser than her?! Seemed like it. It wasn't exactly something she liked either. She wanted to rip Roxanne's tongue out for doing it. She restrained herself though, curious to hear more about this concept of mates.

"Lois was a couple years older than you, Lea, she was about 25 years old when I first crossed paths with her. Beautiful woman. Absolutely stunning. She didn't even notice me at first," he laughed. "But I noticed her. She was impossible to ignore. Her scent was intoxicating, but I was able to see her by her hair. It was auburn, like yours Roxanne, but nowhere near as vivid. It was short, and curly."

"It took a week before we ran into each other again. We began talking, and that's when I got to look at her. I mean, really look at her," he said. "She had dark blue eyes, with freckles on the bridge of her nose. A smile that could outshine the sun, but that's also when I noticed the unfortunate truth. Your grandmother wasn't a mutant. She was human: fragile and aging by the minute."

"You're telling me that your mate was a _human_?! The very fucking thing you kept us from all these years?!" Lea growled, her voice dripping with anger and disgust.

"We do not get to choose who our mate is, Lea," he said tiredly. "And as I said before, mates are extremely rare. The chances of you finding yours would be like winning the lottery five times in a row."

"Even so, if mates are meant to complete the one another, why would you be given a human partner?" she asked.

"I don't know. There are some things we still don't know about ferals and the whole mate thing," he explained.

"Well, I'm not going to have a damn weakling as a mate, and you should feel disgusted in having a human as yours," she growled.

"That human is your grandmother, whether you like it or not! And I shouldn't have to remind you that if it wasn't for her, you wouldn't be around right now!" he spat, the instinct to defend his late mate rising.

"And I'm supposed to be thankful for my existence?!" she spat.

"Yes!" he barked. "I am tired of your crap, young lady! You do not have the right to speak to me in such a way, nor should you be so disrespectful of the dead! You're an arrogant brat who needs to remember to respect her elders!"

Roxanne, who was watching the exchange, was trembling in fear. She didn't dare say a word because she knew better. This was an argument of alphas. An argument to see which of the two ferals would lead the pride. And just as Roxanne predicted, Lea rose her hand and slapped their grandfather across the face. His face now had three long gashes covering it, though they were quickly healing.

"You do not ever give me orders, Steven. You're getting older and weaker each day, and I think it is high time you learned that your days of being alpha of this family are over!" Lea snarled. "Get out of my territory, or I'll drag you out."

Steven looked stunned. He hadn't been thinking, therefore, he did not expect his granddaughter to lash out in such a way. And he couldn't refuse her order either. While he was also an alpha, Lea was a class above him, and was far more capable of forcing her influence to make insubordinates of her pride obey her command.

Lea growled at Steven in a deadly way when she smelled his hesitation. He couldn't help but follow her order. He took a shaky step, unconscious that he was obeying her without meaning to. Lea and Roxanne watched as their grandfather walked further and further away from the clearing, until he was no longer in sight.

"Tomorrow you learn to hunt," Lea said to Roxanne before turning and disappearing into the cave.

* * *

 **Fact for the Chapter: Lea's grandfather, Steven Flanagan, has been alive for over 400 years, but appears to be in his mid 50s. In his youth, he looked a great deal like Lea's father, Sean Flanagan.**


	3. Chapter 2: Danger in the Forest

The howling of the brisk wind woke Lea just before dawn. The strong scent of active animals carried throughout the cave, causing Lea's mouth to water. She rose from her bedding, and she stretched out, giving her muscles a chance to flex and breathe. As she walked through the cave, she stopped at Roxanne's part of the cave, and swiftly kicked her sister in the side.

"Get up," Lea commanded.

Roxanne groaned in pain from her sister's strike, and rolled away from her. It took a moment for the sharp sting to fade, then she lazily sat up. Her auburn locks were in disarray, and there was crust on her eyes. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, the crust being brushed off in the process. She looked over to Lea, who was towering over her with her arms crossed along her chest.

"You're making me wait, Roxanne," Lea hissed as she grew annoyed with her sister's sluggishness.

"I'm sorry, I'm not used to being kicked awake," Roxanne argued, slowing getting to her feet and cracking her back.

"Yeah yeah, I don't care," Lea waved her hand, dismissing Roxanne's statement. "When I said dawn, I meant dawn."

Roxanne sighed, seeing that Lea's attitude was already in full force. Knowing better than to argue with her sister, Roxanne followed after Lea. They walked out of the cave, to see the meadow was just like the morning before, fresh with dew, and a thin layer of fog cloaking it. It wasn't as cold as the morning before, but still cold enough for Roxanne to grab another hide and throwing it on. Lea didn't seem at all phased by the cold, and therefore, didn't grab an extra layer.

"You need to learn the proper position for hunting, and you need to start running like an actual feral. Run on all fours like I do," Lea demanded.

Lea stood in front of her older sister and slid into a stance. She was in a low crouch, with one leg in almost a kneeling position, with a knee pressed against her chest, and her other leg was stretched out behind her. Her arms were out in a sense that she appeared bigger and with her hands flexing as her claws grew.  
"Copy this stance, and make sure you are study, yet nimble enough to be prepared for anything on any side," she instructed.

"All right," Roxanne nodded, attempting to mirror Lea's stance. "Like this?"

Leaving her stance, Lea began to circle her older sister. She carefully examined Roxanne before stopping behind her. Without any warning, Roxanne felt Lea's palm crash into the square of her back, which sent her flying face first into the ground. Lea crouched down beside her sister's face, smacking the side of her head.

"Just because you look like you have the proper stance doesn't _mean_ you have the proper stance," she lectured, standing up straight again. "Do it again!"

Roxanne sat up on her knees, brushing the dirt and dust off her clothing. Now that she was actually doing it, Roxanne regretted asking Lea to hunt. She should have known that Lea wasn't going to let her ruin the hunt. Lea was a perfectionist after all, and to have someone that she considered non-feral hunting alongside her, well, it worsened her mood.

"All right, this time I got it!" Roxanne said confidently as she repeated the stance.

She closed her eyes and tried to focus. Sturdy, yet flexible. She tightened every muscle in her arms and legs, becoming rigid, though in her mind she was doing it perfectly. However, when Lea began to circling her once more, she noticed immediately how stiff Roxanne was. With a sharp, annoyed inhale, Lea rose a clawed hand and she quickly slashed her claws along Roxanne's arm. Roxanne yelped in pain, and leaped back, grabbing her arm.

"So…" Lea began, acting as if she hadn't heard her sister's cry. "Were you prepared for anything?"

"You **cut** me!" Roxanne accused, thrusting her index finger in Lea's face.

The claw marks that Lea had created were already healing, now only three pink markings were left before they too faded back to match Roxanne's fair skin. Lea glanced at her claws, rubbing them together as a smirk lighted her face. "Yeah, yeah I did."

"WHY?!" Roxanne shouted.

"Because you weren't prepared."

Something inside Roxanne snapped at that moment. It was like electricity was coursing through her. She was tired of Lea's "I'm the Alpha so you do what I say" mentality. Out of anger, she reached out and gripped onto Lea's bicep. She had expected her younger sister to lash out at her for her authority being challenged; but all that came out of Lea was a roar of pain, which caused flocks of birds to flutter out of the trees and leave the forest. Alarmed by it, Roxanne released Lea, and the electricity she had felt before was gone.

"I'm sorry, Lea! I don't know what happened, I didn't mean it!" Roxanne blurted out, the omega inside her panicking at seeing her alpha injured.

Lea was on her knees, greedily taking in air, her healing factor had already allowed her to recover from the pain, but something else had caught her attention. Roxanne's consist apologies were soundless noise in the background to Lea as the wind carried a scent to her. It was powerful, and overwhelming. The scent consumed her, like a veil was draped over her. However, it was also an unknown scent, and it had an undertone of danger mingled into the otherwise unidentifiable scent.

"Get in the cave, and do not leave it until I get you," Lea ordered, the instinct to protect the weaker members of her pride rose immediately.

Roxanne didn't hesitate to obey Lea's command, and bolted into the cave. It was clear to Lea that her sister didn't pick up on the smell like she had. Her icy eyes followed Roxanne before she turned back to the clearing. She ran her claws lazily through her earthy brown locks, and a discontent sigh left her. Her instincts were conflicted at the moment. Part of her was compelled to go towards the scent, while part of her wanted to stay near the cave to protect her sister.

Lea glanced over her shoulder after deciding to go investigate, debating on whether or not she should let Roxanne know she was going to leave for a bit. When she realized that it would probably throw Roxanne into a panic, she decided against it and began walking slowly across the clearing towards the scent. Her movements were careful and cautious, curious about why someone would be dimwitted enough to explore so deep into the woods. Her territory was marked so no one would come within a 5 mile radius of her home.

However, Lea became alert when the scent had crossed into her land. Her slow movements changed into a run as she leaped forward, onto all fours. Her hands pounded into the dirt while her feet kicked off the ground. It was similar to how a wild cat ran, her movements were fluid and not forced. Her pupils became slits as the sun broke through the trees, washing over her as she ran towards the source of the scent.

Lea skidded to a halt, her eyes widening in horror at the sight before her. The scent was coming from a man, a **large** man. He was crouched over the corpse of a freshly killed doe; and from what Lea could see of the man from her angle, he had dark brown hair styled in a crew cut fashion, and mutton chops. He was also wearing all black: a nice button up dress shirt, dress pants, leather shoes, and an unusually creepy trench coat. Her eyes flickered to his hands, noticing that like her, he had claws; though his claws were thicker and larger, accommodating to the size of his hands, and she also saw that his claws were drenched in blood.

After her eyes drank in the sight of the man, she was hit by his scent, now much stronger since they were only a few feet away from one another. He smelled like evergreens, earthy and cool, and there was a tinge of something rustic. It had to be blood. His scent had an odd effect on her, a weird heat had began to pool between her legs.

She took a step back when he rose to his feet. He was about a foot taller than her, and a lot more muscular than she had originally thought. He had stormy gray eyes, and they were solely on hers. They dung into her in a hungry, predatory way, and his fangs were showcased as he spoke, stepping over the doe to get closer to her.

"Don't be afraid, Kitten," he said in a smooth voice, taking another step towards her.

"I'm not," she argued.

While she usually had a strong, authoritative voice, when she was face to face with this man, Lea's voice was small, shaky, and lacked confidence. Her knees felt wobbly and her throat seemed dry. Her instincts called for her to let this man near her, and yet, she felt so powerless against him. Weak, even. She didn't know how to reaction, and despite her claim of not being scared, she turned on her heel and broke into a sprint.

She ran quickly throughout the forest, weaving through the trees as she went. Behind her, she could hear the man running after her. She glanced over her shoulder to see the man running in the exact same manner as she was. A chill ran down her spine when she noticed he was baring his fangs at her. She raised an arm as she ran, twisting and turning through the trees, slashing at the branches, to try to throw him off her trail and stun him. She looked back once more after she circled around a bit, and saw she had lost him. Now she went back to Roxanne's direction.

"Roxanne!" Lea called out to her sister as she ran towards the cave.

"Wh-What!? What is it?!" Roxanne asked in a panic as Lea crashed into her.

"You need to run away from here, as far away as you can get," Lea panted, trying to catch her breath.

"Why?! What about you?" she questioned.

"She's going home," the already familiar voice to Lea chimed in. "with me."

Lea turned and pulled Roxanne behind her, taking a protective stance. She glared at the man who stood not even a yard away from them. That caused a growl to slip through Lea's plump lips, and have her bare her fangs towards the feral male before them.

"Stay the hell away from us," Lea ordered, finding her strength again as her instinct to protect surfaced.

"You know I can't do that, Kitten. My instinct won't allow it," the man said in an almost taunting tone. "I'll come for you, because it is my nature."

Her fangs began to grow as Lea's lip curled. She flashed them in warning to the stranger when he took a step towards the two sisters. No matter how intoxicating and mind numbing his scent was, her protective, alpha instincts kept her focused, making sure Roxanne was safe behind her. She knew that whatever was about to happen, she had to protect her weaker pride member. It was her duty as an alpha.

"You'll come for me, or use my family members to get my attention?" she challenged.

For a moment, he looked at her with a puzzled expression, his brow arched. His eyes then flickered to Roxanne, who was now clinging to Lea's arm. A dark chuckled left him, his fangs flashing as he grinned. It was like he had just noticed her.

"Her? She's no concern of mine unless she gets in my way," he said.

"Is that so? Well then, let's see how far you'll go, dickhead," she sneered.

Lea jerked out of Roxanne's grasp, and launched herself towards the mountains above her cave. She easily leaped from rock to rock, scaling up the mountain with great speed. She didn't stop or waste time trying to make the path behind her more difficult to climb. She had let go, allowing her instincts to take command and guide her up until she reached the snowy region of the mountain and the sun was beginning to set. His scent was no longer following her, so Lea retreated into a cave and began to insulate it. She piled and jammed rocks of all sizes to close off the cave and keep the bitter cold wind from getting in.

"That should do it…" she sighed, wiping a bead of sweat from her brow.

She slid down the cave's wall, her eyes adjusting to the darkness almost instantly, and sat down to take in everything that had happened. In one day: She had tried to teach Roxanne how to hunt, Roxanne had managed to harm her, she had encountered another feral who seemed hellbent on hunting her, and that said feral had a scent who drove her inner beast wild, not to mention she was forced to flee from her home.

A heavy sigh left her, and she closed her eyes. Her mind wandered over to the conversation she and Roxanne had had with their grandfather the night prior over to all of this. Mates. _The first time you smell them, it is...overwhelming._ She couldn't help but groan and buried her face into her knees.

She tried to remember the man's scent, and began to concentrate. He smelled like trees, and the soil that a tree was rooted into, and it was incredibly soothing to her. It made her frustrated, mainly because it conflicted two parts of her. Her body longed for more of the man, while her mind was confused yet refused to obey its own temple. She unconsciously sniffed, then became even more confused when she started to smell wood burning. Her eyes fluttered open, and was greeted by an orange flame sitting in front of her. She felt something heavy be draped over her shoulders, and she looked to her right side, to see the feral man she had been running from sitting down beside her; and that creepy coat of his wasn't on him, but her.

"Ho-How did you?!" she asked in shock, too stunned to get angry with him.

"I told you I'd find you, Kitten," he replied calmly, reaching out and taking a lock of her hair into his paw.

"Who are you?" she choked out, feeling uncomfortable as he brought her hair to his nose and inhaled her scent.

He leaned in, moving so close to Lea that he was practically on top of her. She was oddly comfortable with him on her, his blazing body heat radiated onto her. She wasn't exactly sure if she found his actions to be creepy or soothing. Mentally, she knew she should have been creeped out, but his presence was calming to her.

"You know who I am, baby," he said, their eyes meeting. He let go of her hair, and wrapped his arm around her, sitting back up and pulling her into his lap. "I'm your mate."

That made Lea's head spin. So he had smelled her, just as she had smelled him. It caused a wave of emotions to come over her at once, something she wasn't accustomed to. Lea tended to only have two emotions: bloodlust and anger, or at least, she considered bloodlust an emotion. Her confusion transitioned into an emotion she was familiar with however: anger.

"I meant a name," Lea growled, trying to ignore that she was pressed against him, being forced to inhale his intoxicating scent.

"Victor," he said lazily as he ran his claws up and down her back, something that was relaxing to her, despite her better judgement. "And yours, Kitten?"

Lea bit her lip, taking a moment to consider her options. She could tell him to go to hell, and attack him, which was her preferred option but it could also escalate the situation to a dangerous level, or she could give him the silent treatment, or she could follow his lead and remain civil as long as he did.

"Lea," she finally answered, though she shoved away from him, giving herself a bit of much needed space. "And stop calling me 'Kitten', it's demeaning as all hell."

Victor growled and threw Lea onto the ground. He was on her in an instant, his paw around her throat, but not enough to harm her at all. His canines were shown once more, making her skin crawl when she realized how large and sharp they were. She tried to push him off, which caused him to grab her wrists and pin them above her head.

"Lea Creed, I like the ring of that," he murmured, surprisingly calm, most likely because his lips were brushing against hers. "You're rather fiesty, Kitten, another thing I like."

"Can you fucking stop?!" she growled, beginning to struggle against Victor. "That's not my last name, by the way."

Victor sighed, and shifted his weight to keep from crushing his fiery mate while also attempting to have use of his hands. He ran his claws slow down her arms, which seemed to ease her tension and the struggling stopped. He was careful not to cut her as his hands traveled to her chest. She snarled at him in warning when his hands went towards her two mounds. His eyes flickered back to hers at hearing her growl before moving his hand to rest on her waist again.

"I know, it's mine," he smirked, getting up and pulling her into his lap once more so she was straddling him.

"Well it isn't _mine_ ," Lea spat, squirming against him and pushing at his chest, despite feeling his claws threatening to dig into her hips. "My last name is Flanagan."

"You're Irish," Victor noted, ignoring her struggles.

"And you're a psychotic prick!" she snapped.

"You must be one too, otherwise you wouldn't be my mate," Victor countered, not at all bothered by her accustion.

"I'm not your mate, and you want to know why?" she said in a strained voice, she had pushed herself off of Victor, which caused his claws to drag deeply through her flesh until he no longer had a grip on her. She plopped down onto the ground, her hips healing instantly. "Because I choose not to."

"It isn't a damn choice, Kitten!" Victor growled angrily.

"I said stop with the stupid fucking pet name!" Lea growled back, getting in Victor's face. "And there's always a choice!"

"Oh yeah? So you chose to be a mutant?!" Victor countered, feeling proud because he was sure he had stumped her.

"No, but I chose to accept it and be open about it," Lea said, not even taking a breath before answering him.

It was her turn to feel proud, because she had stumped him. She could smell his irritation about being outsmarted by his mate. _Wait, did I just say I was his mate? Ugh. No! I'm not his mate._ Lea thought, wanting to throw up because she had even thought of calling herself his mate.

"Open about it?" Victor said harshly, "I hate to break it to you, _Lea_ , but living in the forest away from all of society isn't being open about it."

"Oh, so where the hell do you live, _Mister Creed_?" Lea sneered, she didn't want to admit it, but he did have a good point. Was it really living openly if she remained far away for humans?

"Canada," he replied, a smirk on his face once more. "And _we'll_ be living in one of my many houses there."

"You can go back to Canada by yourself." Lea huffed, scooching away from Victor as he crept towards her.

His approach made her feel like prey, and he was her predator. She was pinned against the wall with nowhere else to turn, becoming caged in by Victor. He leaned into her, his eyes locked with hers as his thumb brushed her bottom lip. He seemed calmer by his being able to touch her.

"You're coming with me, and you know that," he spoke in a soothing tone, which actually made her relax.

"I know you won't stop, but that doesn't mean you'll ever succeed," she whispered, not entirely confident in her statement.

Victor picked up on the weakness in her statement and chuckled, "Get some rest, Kitten, we have a long day tomorrow."

* * *

 **Fact for the Chapter: Roxanne is a Class 2 Feral mutant, and since her base mutation isn't strong enough to protect her, a secondary mutation developed, which was first used against Lea (as we saw in this chapter). Her secondary mutation is: Electrocution by touch.**


	4. Chapter 3: The Alpha Female

_"Try to keep your temper, Lea. We're here for Roxanne. You can get your revenge another day," Steven said, hiding in the shadows beside his granddaughter._

 _"I can't make any promises, Grandfather. If she gets in our way, I'll end this," Lea growled, flexing her claws as she spoke._

 _Accepting that his granddaughter was always going to be headstrong, Steven sighed and moved a bit further out of the shadows, keeping low to the ground to keep from being seen. Lea followed his lead, the closer they got, the easier it was to see her sister who was just beginning to develop her mutation. Her eyes narrowed, glowing faintly due to the ending twilight, it looked like her sister was trying to tear her claws out herself, to prevent their mother from seeing it._

 _"Grandfather…"_

 _"Stay put, Lea. I'll handle this,"he reassured._

 _There was a growl of protest from Lea, though she did as she was told and waited in the shadows. She clawed at the tree trunk near her, watching and listening in to the conversation that her grandfather was going to have with her older sister._

 _"Roxanne, there's no need to be ashamed or frightened about what is happening to you," Steven said in a calm tone._

 _"Wh-What?" Roxanne froze from her attempt of ripping her owns claws out and looked up at Steven with a distressed look on her face._

 _"Relax, we are the same," he showed her his claws, flexing them to further prove his point. "I can help you, just like I helped your sister. Come with me."_

 _"My sister? You know where Shannon is?!" she asked in awe, though Steven could hear the growl that came from Lea by hearing her birth name. "Wait… What about my mom?"_

 _"Your mother does not understand, nor accept our kind. She will torture you, just as she did Lea. Now please, we must hurry. I can smell her, she is getting close," Steven urged._

 _"N-No! I have to tell her first!" Roxanne said firmly._

 _"Very well…" he sighed, shaking his head. "I will await in the shadows. Speak to her out here, where I can jump in if needed."_

 _Steven returned to Lea's side, glancing down at his youngest grandchild. He could smell the anger and anxiety that radiated from her being. It didn't settle his nerves much either. It seemed like whoever this woman was that his son had married was not favored by Lea, and from the stories Lea had told him, the woman was not someone on his good side at the moment either. Nevertheless, as her scent drew near, Steven became more focused on Roxanne than Lea, whose temper seemed to be under control at the current moment in time._

 _"Roxanne! Where are you?!" a voice shouted from inside the house, once more causing a growl to emit from Lea's throat._

 _"I'm in the backyard, Mom!" Roxanne called back._

 _A woman with short, bob-styled dark hair came out into the backyard. It was visible to Steven and Lea that the woman's roots were gray, and there were bags under her eyes. She was wearing long khakis and a pink blouse. From the look on her face, with her eyes bugging out, she was in a bad mood._

 _"Why the hell are you out here?! I told you to do the dishes, sweep the downstairs, and scrub the tub!" the woman barked._

 _"Mo-Mom… I gotta tell you something. Please," Roxanne spoke in a gentle, quiet tone, hoping to calm her mother before breaking the news to her._

 _"What?" she snapped._

 _"Um…" not sure how to say it, Roxanne decided just to show her by raising up her hands and displaying her newly grown claws to her._

 _"No! No no no no NO!" her mother screamed angrily, grabbing Roxanne tightly by the wrist, causing her to whimper in pain.  
Lea, who was carefully watching the interaction between her sister and her mother was brought back to when her mother had first found out about her mutation. The memory brought back so much pain, anger, and grief. It caused her to ignore her grandfather's attempt at a calming touch, and charge forward to defend her sister._

 _"Get your fucking hand_ _ **off**_ _of her," Lea snarled, grabbing ahold of her mother's wrist, her claws growing to encasing her wrist around them._

 _"Sh-Shannon?!" her mother croaked out, releasing Roxanne and now squirming under Lea's grip._

 _"That's not my name," Lea hissed, clenching the fist that held her mother's wrist with such force that she felt the bone snap. "Who the hell do you think you are, trying to gain control over a feral?"_

 _"Shannon, stop!" Roxanne pleaded, though she was scared as all hell of her sister at the moment.  
"Roxanne, don't interfere. You must let Lea get this out of her system," Steven said, grabbing Roxanne quickly to keep her from getting in Lea's way._

 _"A scream is not an answer, Allison," Lea cooed, pulling her mother closer and running a clawed finger along her jawline. While it seemed like a gentle touch, it was simply a build up because then Lea grasped Allison's face tightly and growled in it. "Answer. Me."_

 _"I-I-I…. I'm yo-yo-your m-mo-mother…" Allison's scent was pure fear, and Lea inhaled it greedily._

 _"Heh… No. No you're not,"_

 _In a swift move, while still holding onto Allison's broken wrist, Lea pulled Allison into her and rammed her claws deeply into her right shoulder. The moment the rustic scent hit her, Lea's pupils grew, almost consuming every inch of blue, and Lea's fangs grew to the point of poking out of the side of her mouth.  
While Allison hollered from the intense pain that burned in her right shoulder, Lea shushed her, as if almost to soothe her from the fiery pain. The entire time Lea hushed her though, she was flexing her claws against the hot flesh, twisting and turning to get more of the rich crimson liquid to drip down her arm._

 _"Imagine feeling this type of pain, multiple times a day for years, bitch," Lea hissed, pushed Allison away and yanking her claws from out of her shoulder.  
Examining her now blood covered claws, Lea noticed an odd circular-ish lump on her middle claw. Calmly, she brought her middle finger to her lips and licks the blood clean. The lump appeared to be fleshy, so Lea plucked it from her claw and pinched it in her hand, never breaking eye contact with Allison._

 _"Well well well, I wonder what this could be…" Lea taunted, a smirk playing on her face._

 _"Yo-You're a monster…" Allison panted._

 _"Yes well, it's better to be a monster than a corpse," Lea pinched the pink fleshy object in between her index finger and thumb, causing blood to drip down her hand once more._

 _Finally regaining her senses, Allison turned away from Lea and made a run for the inside of her house so she could get to the phone. Unfortunately for her though, Lea was much younger, and much quicker than her. Lea pounced and landed in front of her, blocking the door, a sinister smirk on her face._

 _"Now now, pet, I didn't dismiss you,"_

 _Lea grabbed Allison by the neck, tightening her grip around her neck by extending her claws. She lifted her mother into the air with ease, and raised her right hand up with her claws fully extended. Once more, she crashed her blood-soaked claws into Allison's wounded shoulder and punctured through the exposed flesh, hooking onto the stringy muscle. In a slow, agonizing manner, Lea dragged her claws deeply through Allison's body. As Lea dragged her claws through her mother's torso, blood sprayed and splattered onto Lea's face and upper torso, due to her slicing through the muscles, until she finally stopped at her hip._

 _"_ _ **Now,**_ _you're dismissed,"_

 _Lea kicked Allison in her exposed torso, causing more blood to fly through the air before Allison collapsed onto the ground. She was just barely alive, gasping and choking as she attempt to breathe. Lea brushed her bare foot on the grass, wiping off the blood, then crouched down beside Allison's face. In a surprisingly gentle manner, Lea angled Allison's face so she could watch as the light left her eyes. It was only until after she was certain that she had passed that Lea stood up and looked towards her sister, who had tears streaming down her face from the horror she had just witnessed, and her grandfather, who had a blank expression on his face as he restrained Roxanne._

Lea's eyes snapped open, not in a startled manner, but an alert one. Her vision was blurred for a moment before it recovered. She sighed and rolled over, feeling Victor's coat move over her. He must have put it on her after she fell asleep. It was a nice gesture, and for a moment, she felt touched by it. That moment faded rather quickly when she realized that this man was _hunting_ her. She saw him sleeping soundly beside her, and part of her was surprised he wasn't sleeping on top of her to keep her from running. She was grateful for it though, because she slipped out of his coat and got to her feet.

She tiptoed away from Victor and over to the cave's entrance. Her brows furrowed together when she noticed every stone that she had used to barricade herself inside the cave was in the same spot that she had placed them. She was dumbfound as to how Victor got in if she had blocked the passage. Her icy gaze turned, and she searched the rocky walls for a hole, but there wasn't anything disturb within the cave,

"How the hell…" she couldn't help but ask out loud, in a confused tone of voice.

Realizing her mistake, Lea clapped her palm over her mouth and looked over her shoulder to Victor. Her heart was racing, but lucky for her, he was still sound asleep. A relieved sigh left her and she began peeling rocks away to get out. Once the sunlight broke through, Lea heard Victor stirr behind her, which caused her to rush herself. She shoved a few more rocks aside before climbing through the small opening. Her wide hips caught in the hole, causing Lea to silently cursing herself for having birthing hips, and began to wiggle and shimmy until she got loose. She fell forward, tumbling down the rocks then falling face first into snow. An annoyed groan left her and she got up, dusting the snow of her hide. She peeked through her escape route, and saw Victor rolling in his sleep, in the direction that she had been sleeping. Deciding not to wait for him to wake up, took off again, this time down the mountain.

It hadn't even been ten minutes before Lea heard Victor's roar of anger. This caused an annoyed sigh to leave Lea as she continued to run down the mountain. Her claws were unfortunately leaving a trail due to her going down an icy slope, so there were chunks of dirt and messed up patches of snow, which would lead Victor right to her. This caused her to speed up, but due to the increase of pace, she lost control and began tumbling down the mountain.

"Fuck!" Lea growled as she was bouncing and hitting every rock in sight.

Lea reached out towards a rock as she continued falling, attempting to use her claws to slow her down, though her attempts failed miserably and she felt her claws break. She roared out in pain, and while her mind was fogged with pain, she felt something grab the back of her dress and yank her. A soft whine left her as she felt her back touch against a cold stone. She looked down at her hands to see her claws were broken so severely that they were bleeding and she could see the skin under her nails. Her healing factor was already working though, and quickly reconstructing her claws to their natural length.

"Ow ow ow…" she groaned, putting her hands in between her thighs.

"Let me see."

Lea could only groan, recovering from the pain, as she knew who that deep voice belonged to. She inhaled sharply, knowing that Victor's scent would relax her before she looked at him. Her claws remained firmly between her thighs, as she met his gaze. He didn't seem angry, in fact, Lea could swear she saw concern in his eyes.

"I'm fine, Victor. Fuck off," Lea growled through a clenched jaw.

"Kitten, either show me or I'll fucking make you," Victor growled back in an impatient tone.

Her brows rose at his threat. The alpha side of her took it as a challenge, and it pissed her off. As far as she was concerned, they were still on her home turf, so she wasn't exactly pleased with the fact that Victor was going against her authority in her home. She could feel her claws grow due to the threat.

"Fucking. Try. It. Bitch." she spat.

With that, Victor wasted no time on asserting dominance over her. He grabbed Lea by her shoulders, and threw her down into the powdery snow. She kept her hands firmly wedged between her thighs, but she growled and bared her fangs at him. He returned the growl before crashing his thin lips into hers. A muffled sound of disapproval left her, and she could feel one of his knees stabbing at hers, which were helping keep her legs closed. He managed to wedge it free and grabbed her wrists, yanking her hands out. He broke the kiss and pulled her up into a sitting position.

"You're such a fucking dickass!" Lea shouted.

Victor arched a brow at Lea's insult and looked at her for a moment before turning his attention to her hands. She knew the insult was stupid, but she was also very flustered so she didn't care. She looked at her healed hands as well, and her eyes widened when she realized that Victor made her hands look so small, yet one hand seemed to fit perfectly in one of his. He turned her hand every which way in a surprisingly gentle manner as he examined them for any cuts.

"You do know I have a healing factor right?" she asked in a calmer, more civil tone.

"You worried me," Victor growled suddenly, his hands enveloping hers. "Are you that against being my mate that you'd throw yourself down a mountain!?"

Lea's eyes widened further at his sudden hostility. The hold he had on her hands now was tight and firm. It wasn't one in an attempt to harm her, but one that made her think that he felt if he had let go, she'd slip away. She could feel her inner beast feel pity towards him and she could feel herself become a bit more submissive to him. She looked away from him, not sure what to say.

"Answer me," he demanded.

"Maybe I just don't want to be owned!" Lea snapped, yanking her hands away from his and glaring at him. "What the hell did you expect!? Do you think you're so fucking desirable that I'd just drop everything and become your mate?! How big is your fucking ego!?"

Not waiting for him to answer, Lea got to her feet and dusted the snow off of her behind. She began to walk away when she felt Victor's claws constrict around her wrist. She turned and ended up being face to face with Victor. The scent of his rage was radiating off of him, but she didn't care.

"Fuck off!"

Lea tackled Victor, which caused them both to fall backwards back down the slope he had rescued her from. There was immediate regret on Lea's side, as pained growls left both of them. They were separated by a rogue pine tree, and like before, Lea tried to stop herself by her claws. She had managed to slow herself, but she ended up crashing onto the ground a bit near Victor. She felt something pierce into her back, and her spine being snapped by the object. Her vision blurred from the pain, but she could swear she saw someone with blades sticking out of his fists nearby. Then everything went black.

* * *

 **Fact for the Chapter: Lea left her childhood home at the age of 10. She had originally planned to go to Wisconsin, and during a hunt on the border of Wisconsin and Canada, Lea was found by her grandfather.**


	5. Chapter 4: Safe Haven?

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry this chapter is out a little later than the others. My personal life has been insane lately, and I just started a new job so I'm trying to figure out how to manage everything right now. There might be typos in this chapter cause I didn't really focus when I did the final check, so I am sorry if there is any! Also, since it's only a few days away, Happy Valentine's Day!~**

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A blinding light burned through Lea's eyelids and caused her to stir. The heat that was radiating from the rays caused Lea to grow uncomfortable. Her hand twitched ever so slightly, which allowed her to feel a waxy, paper-substance. It annoyed her senses, and the urge to get up rose inside her, an urge she ignored when she heard voices. She decided to continue to pretend she was asleep so she could listen in.

"Ya think _she_ was raped?" a gruff male voice asked in a hostile tone.

"There was dried blood on her thighs, and considering her company, it is a logical conclusion, Logan," a woman replied in a hushed voice.

"I get ya can't smell what I can, but she reeks of Victor and a woman like her sure as hell can't get raped," he argued. "Someone like her shouldn't be around the youngsters."

"Dr. McCoy wants to speak with her. He thinks she could help him, and the professor thinks she'd be helpful in training for the students," she answered.

"The kinda mutant she is eats kids like the students for breakfast," he growled.

"She isn't that bad- She's close, but she won't attack the kids," a new voice chimed in, the silvery ring helped Lea to recognize the voice to be Roxanne's. "And when push came to shove, she **did** protect me from Victor."

"That's instinct, kid," the man said. "And if I remember correctly, you were happy to be away from her."

Lea couldn't help but grow annoyed. They were talking about her without knowing who she was, and the conclusions they jumped to pissed her off further. The only person who seemed to have a slight idea of who she was, was the man that was talking. Either way, she was fed up with letting the conversation go on. Her eyes snapped open, a hiss leaving her as the light burned her eyes, and she smacked the light away. It resulted in a loud crash, and when her eyes adjusted, she saw she was in a sleek blue room.

"Lea!"

Her eyes flickered over to her sister, who came rushing into the room, followed by the man she had seen before passing out. She noticed that Roxanne wasn't in her hides, but in human clothes instead. Her auburn locks were pulled into pigtails, and she wore a hot pink sundress. A growl of disapproval left Lea, which was threatening enough to cause Roxanne to stop an arms-length away from her sister.

"Why the hell was **he** on my land?!" Lea demanded, thrusting a finger at Logan.

"I-I don't know! But I asked them to help!" Roxanne stuttered.

"You think I needed help!?" she growled in a offended and hostile voice. "I was doing just fine!"

"Sure ya were, throwing ya self down a mountain was a real smart move," Logan snorted, rolling his eyes.

Her topaz blue hues shifted and fixated on Logan. Her pupils noticably became slits when they focused on him, a sign of her dislike for the male. She pushed off of the table and glared at him while remaining in front of her sister.

"Watch it, pretty boy or I'll rearrange your fac-" Lea stopped in the middle of her threat when she caught his scent. It was very similar to Victor's, yet unlike Victor's undertone scent of blood and danger, Logan had an undertone of metal and cigars. The similarities in their scent caused Lea to become confused. "Why the fuck do you smell like Victor?"

"Excuse me?" Logan's tone of voice made it seem like he was offended by Lea's question.

"It is likely that the reason Logan and Victor's scent are so alike to you is because of their blood relation, just like Roxanne and you have a similar scent," a voice with a British accent joined into the conversation.

The trio's attention shifted, and Lea's eyes widened at the sight before her. There were three more people coming into the room: An elderly bald man in a wheelchair, a woman in a tight red dress behind him, and to their side was a man covered in vivid blue fur, yet it was groomed and tame, while he was stuffed into a suit.

"I hope you are not antagonizing her, Logan," the old man said in almost a warning tone.

"She started it," Logan grumbled, obviously realizing that he sounded, and looked, like a child as he crossed his arms along his chest.

His childish answer caused looks from the trio that had entered the room, while Lea gave an eye roll. He smelled like an alpha, but so did the furball, yet they both didn't seem very intimidating to her. The only thing that caught her interest at the moment was the so called blood relation between Victor and Logan. What was their connection to one another? Where they father and son? Didn't seem likely, Victor wasn't a fatherly type. Cousins? Possibly. Brothers? Likely. Uncle and nephew? Also likely. She looked over to Logan, ignoring the conversation between the others.

"How are you related to Victor?" she asked.

"Logan, why do you and Roxanne come with me, lunch is ready anyways," the woman in the red dress said.

Logan looked at the woman in disbelief, which made it clear to Lea that he wanted to stay. Why? She didn't know, but she also wasn't exactly fond of being in a room with two alphas, mainly because she knew she was on their territory. Just like Victor was the unwelcomed guest on her land, she was the unwelcomed guest on their land. Roxanne, on the other hand, merely nodded and walked over to the woman without hesitation.

"Let's go, Jean," Roxanne said with a smile.

"Logan," Jean waved for him to follow.

There was another awkward moment where Logan didn't move. The old man in the chair was looking at Logan in utter silence, and Logan suddenly looked irritated. It took a few moments, but eventually, Logan growled. He stormed out of the room without saying anything, and Roxanne and Jean followed after him.

"I'd like to apologize for his behavior, Logan can be quite difficult at times," the man in the wheelchair said. "I'd also like to introduce myself. My name is Charles Xavier, and this is my associate, Doctor Hank McCoy."

"It is a pleasure, Lea, I've been told quite a lot about you from Roxanne. I was hoping to ask you a few questions about your mutation," the blue furball named Hank said.

"Yeah, no," Lea dismissed with ease. "Just tell me where the fuck I am so I can find my way home."

"You're at my school for the gifted. It is a place where young mutants who are just developing their mutation can come here to learn how to control their mutation and educate themselves. It is a safe haven for our kind," Charles explained.

"Well that's fucking great, but I'm looking for a state. I don't give a shit about your stupid school," she snapped.

"We are located in New York, and I can assure you this school is not stupid. It is important for one to learn to control their mutation, though, you've never had that issue, have you?" Charles asked.

"That's none of your business," Lea growled. "Now are you gonna tell me how Logan is fucking related to Victor?"

"Sit. I'd like to extract some blood and we can talk while I do so."

Lea sighed but did as she was asked. She hopped back onto the cool table that was covered by the paper sheet. Her legs were closed together tightly as Hank walked over to her. Her eyes narrowing as he pulled over a cart with a bunch of things she didn't know and pulled out a notepad. He handed it to the professor, who opened it and looked ready to write.

"Hold out your arm," Hank asked, then after Lea did, he answered her question. "Logan and Victor are brothers. Half-brothers, but brothers nonetheless. It's why their scent is so similar to you. For example, when I compare the scents of your sister and you, there are similarities, but differences to personalize you. Your scent has an undertone of mint, while Roxanne's undertone is cinnamon."

At his in depth answer on scents, Lea actually felt impressed. She hadn't know that about scents. It seemed like common knowledge now that he had explained it, but the personalization thing is what really made it for her. It made her think she could learn things from him, and further understand herself as he took her blood. She looked at him in a surprisingly calm manner.

"I'd like to stay, but under certain circumstances," Lea said in a business-like tone.

"Of course, we can discuss them," Professor Xavier nodded, rolling closer to her.

"I want my own room, I don't want _anything_ to do with your little band of mutants, and the brats that run around here, you aren't the boss of me, and Big Blue here is gonna talk to me to tell me about this research of his," Lea thrusted her thumb towards Hank. "In return, I'll give my full cooperation to help him."

"Very well. There is one final thing I need to inform you of," Professor Xavier said, glancing at Hank for a moment in a hesitate manner. "I am a telepath, which means I have the ability to read minds, however… I cannot read yours. It is like there is a shield surrounding your mind. When I attempt to read yours, it causes me pain. Have you ever encountered mutants before us today?"

The way he spoke confused her. Her brows pushed together as she stared at him. Part of her was offended that he believed she didn't know what a telepath was, but then again, the way she looked at the moment didn't scream that she was an educated individual.

"The only other mutants I've encountered are Victor and my grandfather," she answered.

"I see… Thank you. Roxanne will take you to your room."

After Lea was taken to her room, she had hopped into the shower and cleaned herself. She wrapped herself in a large fluffy towel, a soft sigh leaving her as her muscles felt much more relaxed than they had felt in a long time. She walked out of her bathroom into the bedroom, and froze in the door frame. Roxanne stood in front of her bed, with a pile of clothes on it.

"I'm not sure of your size… There's a bunch here, the bras might be tight though," she muttered quietly. She dug through the pile and pulled out a black dress. "I think this would fit you best… Dresses, in my opinion, are the easiest to fit for…"

Lea bit the inside of her cheek and chewed on it lightly as she stared at the dress. She knew her hide was destroyed beyond repair at the moment, and she couldn't walk around naked. With a displeased look, she yanked the dress from her sister's hands and flipped it to read the size label. Medium. She gave a heavy sigh and looked back to Roxanne. "Some privacy would be nice."

"Oh! Sorry…" Roxanne quickly hurried out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Once she was alone, Lea glared at the dress. The fabric felt so different to her, compared to her animal skin hides. She reached for the zipper, and grimaced when she saw how she was meant to wear the simple article of clothing. It didn't look pleasant, but she quickly dried herself off with her towel and began attempting to get into the dress.

There were constant growls, whimpers, and whines leaving Lea as she tried to wiggle and shimmy into the dress. Her hips felt tight as she managed to drag it to her waist, then came the torturous part of cramming her breasts into the small dress. She tried to zip it up once she was properly in black clothing, but grew frustrated when it wouldn't get past her shoulder blades. Of course the dress was too small for her, considering her body structure and natural muscles.

She groaned when she tried to move, and the dress only allowed stiff movements. She groaned louder and flopped backwards onto the bed. After sinking almost immediately into it, Lea fell off the bed with a thud. She scrambled onto her knees, hearing a tear from her dress in the process, and popped back up to stare at the bed.

"What the!?" she hissed.

Lea crawled back onto the bed, moving wobbly as she did so. The mattress felt like a marshmallow beneath her weight, and it confused her senses. She tried to circle around the bed, and feel everything out. The sheets were silk, which felt cold and oddly soft compared to the cotton dress she was wearing at the moment. She was eventually able to get comfortable after burrowing under the sheets, and plopped down onto her stomach. Her head touched the cool pillow, and that felt like it was trying to suffocate her. She threw the pillow off the bed and used her arms as her pillow, something she was used to. While this place may have been a safe haven for others, Lea found it to be her own personal hell.

* * *

 **Fact for the Chapter: Lea also has a secondary mutation. Hers is a Psychic Shield, which as we can see from the chapter, means that there is something that cloaks Lea's mind to prevent her from her mind being read/controlled.**


	6. Chapter 5: Reunions

**A/N: WOW. It has been ages since I uploaded this story. I do apologize for that. A while back my personal life shifted and I became a sole provider for my household, so for the longest time, writing wasn't possible. I do still struggle with writer's block for this story as well. I am gonna try to get back to it though. These next few chapters might be a little off though. I'm struggling with ending the chapters.**

 **Thank you for the support, and those who favorited/followed the story even though I haven't updated it in months.  
**

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It had been 17 years since Lea had slept in a normal bed, and while she was initially confused by it, mainly due to her senses not understanding how a solid object could be so plush and squishy after living in the woods for so long, she was able to sleep well. When her body finally told her to wake up, she stirred and groaned, burying her face into something and attempted to go back to sleep; however, she became alert when she realized her cheek wasn't on her hand. Her hand was on the same surface her head was though, something _hot_ and _solid_. She put some of her weight on her hand as she lifted her head and met a pair of intense gray eyes.

"Morning Kitten," Victor greeted in a whisper, brushing her chestnut waves out of her face. "If it wasn't for your scent, I wouldn't have recognized you last night."

Lea, who was still waking up, only responded with a groan and rolled out of Victor's reach. She tried to sit up, only to fail due to the cushioning on the bed. With a grunt, she gave it a second attempt only to fail again but overcompensating and flung herself forward and landed on her stomach. She felt the mattress dip as Victor shifted and scooted closer to her. His warm breath was on the shell of her ear as his scent embraced her.

"You seem to be having some trouble," he taunted.

"I hate this fucking bed!" she snapped in a muffled tone, since she refused to leave her faceplanted position.

"Ours isn't this bad, Kitten," Victor reassured as he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her up. He placed her in a sitting position in front of him, though kept his hand on her to make sure she didn't fall. "Ours is firm, this shit's like a marshmallow."

" **We** don't have a bed, **you** have _your_ bed," she corrected, smacking his hand away once she found her footing.

"Still denying it, hm?" he arched a brow at her.

Lea's eyes narrowed at his question. Did he really think she'd be over it all in a day? It wasn't some silly argument that she'd get over so easily. It was something that would change the world she knew, and she never was someone who enjoyed change. She took in a sharp breath, and looked back at him.

"How the hell did you even get in here?" she hostilely asked.

"Window," Victor answered simply, looking over his shoulder.

Following his gaze, Lea noticed that one of her windows was in fact tampered with. There was a perfectly cut hole in it, which looked large enough to fit Victor's massive paws, and the metal appeared bent. Hell, it even looked like there were a few teeth marks in it. This caused Lea's brows to furrow together. How did she not hear him? Was she really that exhausted that her instincts just gave up for a night? She began gritting her teeth as a low growl left her.

"Do you not know how to take a hint?" she queried.

Victor met her eyes when she glared at him, and he responded in a surprisingly aggressive manner. He snatched her wrists in his hands then forced her back onto the mattress. His fangs flashed as he snarled at her. Lea, however, wasn't phased by his actions; or moreso, it didn't create the reaction either was expecting. Lea believed Victor was trying to get a frightened reaction from her, and she was expecting herself to be hostile, instead, it was more of that damned heat pooled between her legs. Lea knew Victor could smell it, that smug smirk gave him away.

"Do you insist on pretending you hate it the whole time?" he taunted.

"Victor…" Lea warned. "If I was pretending, do you really think I would have planned to neuter you when we were on the mountain?"

"Oh? So you do wanna touch it," he smirked and winked at her.

"I hate everything about you," Lea groaned.

Victor only chuckled and shifted so he wasn't crushing her. When he felt her hand on his chest pushing him further, he moved so they were back to sitting side by side. It stayed silent between them, but Lea could hear Victor taking bigger breaths than needed. He was taking in her scent as much as he could, and Lea had to admit she was doing the same. It was already familiar to her, and it actually comforted her. It comforted her to see him, alive and well. It was odd for her to be happy to see the man who was hunting her, but she figured it was better to deal with one mutant rather than a handful like she was currently with the school.

"What happened on the mountain?" she asked after a moment, realizing she never found out.

"The runt got in the way," Victor growled.

Lea could smell his anger and frowned. She didn't even know who "the runt" was. Everyone she saw so far wasn't exactly scrawny, and she knew he wouldn't have called Roxanne that. She merely nodded along and sighed. Without thinking, she reached out and patted his shoulder before leaning on it.

"How can someone get in the way if nothing will ever keep us apart?" she pondered, though there was a mocking undertone to her question, one Victor refused to acknowledge.

"You're learning," Victor chuckled, moving so his arm was free to wrap around Lea.

They sat there for what seemed like forever before it actually clicked in Lea's head that she was allowing them this intimate moment. Somehow she felt vulnerable in it, she felt too relaxed and daydreamy. She hated the feeling, which caused her to pull away from Victor in a sudden manner and she got off the bed, holding her hands up.

"No! No no no! Nooope!" she said, taking a few steps away from him.

"What?!" Victor barked, acknowledging that her "no's" were referring to their cuddling.

"We. Are. Not. Mates. Okay?" she spoke slowly but firmly. "I'm not dealing with this bullshit."

"It isn't fucking bullshit, you stubborn ass woman!" Victor grabbed her by her arm and yanked her towards him as he got to his feet. "Why is it whenever you let your damn guard down around me, you immediately put it back up?! I thought I was gonna be the one to fuck this up, but looks like you're doing it for the both of us!"

His words hurt Lea a lot. A lot more than either of them had probably expected, because there was instant regret on Victor's face when he noticed Lea's icy hues became more glossy, as if she was going to cry, and the faint quiver of her bottom lip and Lea could feel the water rise in her eyes. She didn't think he'd ever get under her skin the way he just had, and she didn't know how to respond to it. She couldn't. Her voice was suddenly nowhere to be found.

"Kitten, I-"

"VICTOR!"

Logan's booming voice interrupted Victor, who Lea believed was about to apologize. She and Victor both turned to see Logan standing in the door frame of her room with those metal blades sticking out of his knuckles again and Roxanne behind him, with panic-stricken eyes. Lea felt Victor reach for her, most likely planning on putting her behind him, though he didn't have the chance as Logan charged him and tackled him.

The two brothers were constantly growling and snarling at one another as they exchanged blows. Lea watched in horror as Victor was impaled then thrown through the bathroom door. She took a step towards the shattered door, the need to check on Victor rising in her. She froze when she saw Logan walking towards her quickly. This caused her instincts to kick in as an alpha man was approaching her in a hostile manner, and she let out a low growl in warning. Her fangs grew and she bared them to let him know she was standing her ground. Just as Logan was about to grab her, he was thrown into the dresser, and Victor grabbed Lea. He jerked her behind him and he slipped into a defensive stance in front of her.

"You're okay…" Lea heard herself say as she sighed in relief.

"Back off, Jimmy" Victor warned.

"I'm tryin to protect her!" Logan snapped.

"Enough gentlemen. Might I remind you that this is infact a school and we do have people here who are actually trying to educate themselves?" Professor Xavier scolded as he rolled into Lea's now destroyed room. "Logan. Victor. You two will follow me to my office so this can be worked out. Lea, you may go to our kitchen and have something to eat."

The five walked, or rolled, in an uncomfortable silence. Victor was holding Lea to his side as they walked, which also had him kicking her heels with his feet. She kept trying to elbow him away and wiggled out of his grasp, which he was making very difficult. Logan kept glancing back at them as he heard her soft growls of warning. Roxanne paid no mind to it, as did Professor X. Roxanne worked out helping him down the stairs, and when Lea went to follow suit, Victor stopped her.

Lea opened her mouth, fully ready to snap at Victor for getting in her way, but stopped when she was greeted with the same thing as him. A new scent wafted over to her. It was similar to that of a feral's, as it had that evergreen tone to it, but the earthiness really overtook it more than the pine scent. There was a moldiness there too. Almost like it was a wet dog. Canine. It made her nose wrinkle, and she looked to see who the unappealing scent belonged to.

Standing at the bottom of the stairs was a woman with thin, shoulder-length dirty blonde hair. Her skin was fair, almost tan, and her nose was large, pointed. She wore baggy sweat pants with a loose white tank top. Her olive eyes fixated on Lea immediately, and her face lit up with a smile. It made Lea's brows furrow in confusion. What the hell was she smiling at her for? Victor got possessive at this strange woman smiling at his mate, so he pulled Lea closer to him.

"Shannon?" the woman asked.

While Lea would normally attack anyone who addressed her by her birth name, she felt a rush of comfort at hearing it. This woman knew her, and it finally clicked for Lea. The similarities in a girl Lea once more pieced together. Lea pushed Victor away and she slowly walked down the stairs, her eyes narrowing.

"Lizzie?" she asked back in a cautious tone.

With the woman nodding to confirm, the two screamed in delight. Lea's eyes light up, and she jumped at the girl. They hugged tightly, squealing and laughing as they hopped around in circles. The sound of them sniffing one another after they finally calmed, helping to recognize the other's scent was heard before Lizzie spoke.

"I thought you had died! You just disappeared!"

"I never thought I'd see you again!" Lea said, hugging her again.

"Me too! You look great, Shannon!" Lizzie praised.

"You too! Oh! And it's Lea now, not Shannon," Lea informed.

"Lea huh?" Lizzie murmured, pulling away from Lea and giving her a good look. Her face lit up, that bright smile appearing again. "I like it! It suits you! So it's your mutant name?"

"No!" Lea laughed. "It's my name name! What the hell is a mutant name and why is everyone asking what mine is?"

"It's our codename! It's incredibly important for mutants to have!" Lizzie explained. "Mine is Lupo."

Before Lea could respond, she felt that familiar steel arm yanking her back. She looked over her shoulder to see Victor glaring at Lizzie. She frowned at him, and looked back to Lizzie, who had an amused glint in her eye. Lea didn't really see what was so funny, as she struggled out of Victor's grip.

"Those codenames are stupid. You merely accept those names so you feel you fit in more," Victor growled.

"Yet you have one, Sabretooth," Lea snapped at him, feeling the need to defend her childhood friend.

"I didn't pick mine, Kitten," he spat back.

Lea's jaw set at his reply, her lip curling as she growled at him. Lizzie, who was watching the interaction between the two, was grinning ear to ear. Lea noticed it through the corner of her eye and turned to question her. She didn't get the chance as Professor X spoke up, keeping the situation from escalating further.

"Victor, you and Logan will follow me to my office. We will be discussing this. Lizzie, would you take Lea into the kitchen so she can eat?"

"Sure, come on. It'll give us a chance to catch up," Lizzie tried to encourage, noticing Lea was about to argue.

A soft growl left her as she noticed she was being strayed away. She could feel Lizzie tugging at her arm, attempting to steer her out of the room. Victor seemed reluctant to leave her as well, due to his eyes boring into her. He reached out for Lea, taking her free hand into his. Lea instinctively enclosed her hand around his, but she looked indifferent towards him.

"Yeah, you're right," Lea agreed with Lizzie, letting go of Victor and moving to Lizzie.

Victor didn't let go of her however, which caused Logan to growl at Victor and Lizzie to be more protective of Lea. This resulted in Victor only tightening his hold, while Lea glared at Lizzie. Although Lea was happy to see her childhood friend, her instincts caused her to be offended by Lizzie and Logan's actions that were meant to reassure her that she was safe.

"I don't need you idiots to fucking protect me from him," Lea spat.

"Victor, come. You will see Lea after," Professor X tried to defuse the hostility.

"Don't leave the kitchen, Kitten," Victor instructed before letting go of her hand and following Logan into the office.

Once Victor was out of sight, Lea allowed her friend to steer her into the kitchen. They sat by the counter, and Lea watched as Lizzie hauled over armsful of food to them. In the pile were crunchy cheetos, oreos, pizza rolls, and popcorn chicken. Lea immediately reached for the cheetos and began stuffing her face as Lizzie sat across from her with water. Lizzie's face was mindful as she watched Lea before taking the oreos and opening them.

"You and Victor seem close," she said nonchalantly.

"Hm," Lea hummed through a mouthful of cheetos. She took a swish of water before talking, "We aren't. I don't really know him."

"Really? You should know everything about each other," Lizzie sounded surprised.

"Why the hell would I know anything about him!?" Lea snapped.

"Because you're mates, Lea. Hasn't he marked you?"

"Oh my God… You _believe_ in that shit, Liz?" Lea rolled her eyes.

"Well, yeah. I've experienced it, Lea," Lizzie's brows furrowed together. "Plus I grew up with Dr. McCoy teaching me about our kind, while helping him with his research."

After that there was a long silence. Lea was taking in what Lizzie told her, and wondering what her life would have been like if she had grown up in this environment. It seemed like she'd lack a spine, which made her grunt. She looked back at Lizzie, taking in the familiarities that had matured since she last saw her.

"Who is he?" she asked finally.

"It's Logan…" Lizzie said after a moment.

At that, Lea's face scrunched in disapproval, but she said nothing. The relief on Lizzie's face was evident of it too when she realized that her friend held her tongue. Lea racked her brain on how to approach this. How could she do this without being rude? Before she got the chance, those heavy footsteps thundered into the kitchen. Logan kissed the top of Lizzie's head as he walked by to grab a beer from the kitchen, and Victor stopped at Lea's side.

"Liz, tomorrow you're gonna take Lea shopping for clothes, is that all right?" Logan asked.

"Uh-"

"Love how I don't get a fucking say in any of this still," Lea interrupted with a growl.

"Exactly why I hate this fucking place," Victor grunted, pulling up a chair beside Lea and throwing his arm around her.

Logan shot Victor a dirty glare over the rim of his beer before drinking it. Victor just returned the glare before playing with the ends of Lea's hair. She felt more relaxed with him beside her, but the strangeness outweighed the familiar at the moment. She looked to Lizzie who pursed her lips at the intimacy and ease of Victor's touch towards Lea, and the smug glint made Lea growl again.

"And who's going to be paying for all this damn clothes anyways?" Lea continued on, though she had nodded in agreement with Victor's statement.

"I am," Victor announced as he tossed a sleek black card onto the counter. "I'll give you the pin tonight."

"I'm not-"

"Yes, you are. Have fun with the mutt before we leave."

"She's not a mutt, Victor. Be fucking respectful," Lea spat before snatching the card from the counter. "Lizzie, don't drag me around all day."

"Don't worry, just gonna get you some lingerie!" Lizzie grinned wickedly.

Two very different reactions resulted in Lizzie's statement. A deep, rumbling sound that couldn't quite be classified as a growl or moan from Victor, and a disapproving, warning hiss from Lea. Victor's grip noticeably tightened on Lea's arm, which caused Lea to elbow him. When she looked to see his face, she noticed how dark his eyes became. She shifted in his grasp, clearing her throat.  
"Victor… easy," Logan warned.

"I'm fine," Victor snapped, peeling his eyes away from Lea to glare at Logan.

Lea and Lizzie gave each other a look before Lea brushed Victor off and got to her feet. She felt Victor grab at her arm in an attempt to stop her, only to have her arch her brow at him. Their eyes met and Lea understood why he grabbed her. There was a short nod then she looked towards the doorway.

Roxanne walked gracefully into the room, her yellow eyes glowing with excitement. This caused Lea to frown. She knew something was going to happen that would annoy her, but she was already fairly annoyed today so why not add more to it. Through the corner of her eye, she noticed Victor's jaw set. Whether it was because of her irritation or because of Roxanne, she didn't know.

"Lea, can you come with me?" Roxanne asked.

"Fine," Lea nodded, walking after Roxanne.


	7. Chapter 6: Alphas

**A/N: Hey... I know it's been a looong time since I updated. I do apologize. I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but it is going to take me a long time to finish this due to personal reasons. Over the last year, I had a lot to deal with family wise, and I am currently the main provider and caretaker of my household. My job really kills my creativity for writing, and often gives me writer's block.**

 **However, I do want to thank everyone who reviews or follows the story. It helps to encourage me to try to finish this, and overall, I love knowing people actually like what I write. I'm going to attempt to write more chapters. This one is really kinda bad, but I did write another chapter after this one that I'll post soon.**

* * *

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 _"Are you shitting me?" Lea asked in a hostile growl. "Big Blue is your mate?!"_

 _A stilled silence lingered in the room as Lea's growl echoed. Her blue eyes glared at the two, with Hank holding Roxanne's small hand in his furry paw. Hank seemed uneasy about Lea's reaction, his face twisted with discomfort. Roxanne was frowning, a soft whimper escaped her as she felt the weight of her alpha's rage.  
"Lea, I have told you before that we cannot pick our mates. This is not something you can control," Hank tried to reason, his grip on Roxanne becoming tighter as he felt her feel frightened from Lea's display.  
"I don't give a fuck if it's a choice or not, Roxanne doesn't have to accept you," Lea hissed.  
"But she has. Roxanne has the right to handle this as she may. You don't get a say in this," Hank repeated.  
"As long as I'm Roxanne's alpha, the say is mine," Lea warned, taking a threatening step towards Hank. "Get up Roxanne, now."  
Hank got up with Roxanne. He had felt her hesitate before obeying Lea's order. His connection to Roxanne was strong enough already that he could feel everything Roxanne was feeling. He knew she wanted to refuse Lea's command, but couldn't since she was unclaimed by him. That meant she had to obey the alpha of her current pride. _

_"Do_ _ **not**_ _use your influence on Roxanne!" Hank demanded, taking a defensive stance in front of Roxanne.  
Lea's brow quirked at the challenge. It wasn't the first time she was challenged as an alpha, but it was the first time it was from someone outside her family. She felt herself get exceedingly angry, but somehow, part of the anger didn't seem like her own. Her claws grew quickly, and a moment later, she slashed her claws across Beast's face, then she smacked him backwards. Her strength was great enough to make him tumble back onto the couch. Roxanne was paralyzed in fear by Lea's display of dominance, and was given a glare before Lea stormed out of the room._

Lea sat in the passenger seat as Lizzie drove them back to the school. The back of the car was filled with a bunch of different bags, and one of the outfits bought, Lea was currently wearing. It was a simple outfit, a black cami with leggings. It was a breathable outfit, which is what Lea was willing to suffer in until she returned to her hides. Along with clothing, Lea bought some little keepsakes due to Lizzie's advice.

"You all right, Lea?" Lizzie asked, glancing at her from the lingering silence.

"Hm? Yeah yeah… I just bought too much," Lea sighed, looking at the back of the car.  
"Too much? You bought like maybe $300 of stuff, all of which was on sale for $15 or less cause you refused to buy anything else that was too expensive," Lizzie laughed.

"That's a lot of money," she countered with a frown. "There's not point in me spending a lot, when I'll be back home eventually with my hides."

"You know that Victor will never allow that, Lea," Lizzie reminded as they pulled into the driveway of the school.

There was a cold glare that Lea shot Lizzie's way at that sentence. From the weight of the glare, followed the wave of rage. It wasn't intentional, but Lea's influence was being forced on Lizzie as well. Lea noticed it once the red cleared, and took a deep breath. Her eyes were closed, suddenly feeling guilty about doing such a thing to her friend.  
"I'm sorry…" she muttered.  
"It's fine," Lizzie reassured once she parked. "It's my fault… I know mates are a touchy subject."  
"Yeah, but you should still be able to talk about them," Lea said, getting out of the car. She opened the back and started grabbing bags. "I feel bad, I guess."

Lizzie rolled her eyes, smiling at Lea as she grabbed some bags too. The smile reassured Lea that she hadn't lost her one friend because she was still touchy about mates. It made her relax more, and the two started walking side by side into the school.

"We can talk about mates more when you wear your lingerie for Victor," Lizzie laughed, nudging her with an evil grin.  
"I still can't believe that you convince me to get it. It's so… girly" Lea whispered as they walked into the lounge.

As they walked in, Lea and Lizzie were met by the sound of tv. Lea looked to see it was on the news. The anchor was reporting something about a company called Friends of Humanity. She saw the spokesman for the company talking about how mutants needed to be controlled. The mention of ferals needing to be exterminated was mentioned it before it was turned off.  
"Why did you shut it off?" Lea asked in a tight, restrained voice.  
She hadn't realized it, but she had dragged her claws so deepingly into the couch that a chunk was literally in her clenched fists. Her fangs were digging into her bottom lip, and her eyes were fixated intensely on the tv. Victor's paw encased Lea's, and he was watching her intently. Her eyes threatened to flicker to meet his, but she resisted. She didn't need to give him the satisfaction.

"You're anger is suffocating the room, Kitten," Victor said, whispering in her ear.

She looked around the room and noticed that both Lizzie and Roxanne were withering and whimpering. Her influence was expanding, washing over her lesser female companions. Both Logan and Beast were growling at her, looking like they were ready to attack. She felt Victor snake his arm around her waist, and pulled her closer to him so his body covered her in a defensive way.

"Come on," Victor scooped her up with ease and quickly left the room.  
Her bedroom door was slammed shut, and Victor threw her almost carelessly onto the bed, yanking her bags from her hands. He discarded them on the couch, and looked at her in a dangerous way. She brushed her hair out of her face and pushed herself to the edge of her bed.

"What the fuck is the matter with you?!" Victor growled. "They could have killed you!"

"Fuck off with that shit, Victor, I'm an alpha too!" Lea snapped back. "Stop acting like I can't handle myself! I don't need you to protect me!"

"How fucking blind are you, Lea?!" Victor's voice boomed, shaking with anger. "My duty, whether you fucking like it or not, is to protect you. Your actions affect me. If you fall victim to danger, I **have** to protect you. My instinct will not allow you to be harmed. And you need to realize this is not your territory! Jimmy and that blue fuck have marked this place! You need to control yourself!"

Lea didn't respond. Instead her bottom lip poked out in a pout, and an annoyed growl left her. Her arms crossed along her chest, and she refused to look at him. His anger was burning her nose. She heard him stomp over to her, but continue ignore him. He noticed it, which only pissed him off further.

"Answer me!" Victor demanded.

"What the hell am I supposed to fucking say!?" Lea snapped. "Do you want an apology?! Am I meant to apologize for us being mates?! I get it, Victor! You didn't ask to be my mate! You don't want it, but you aren't as fucking stubborn as me to ignore it! Congratu-fucking-lations! You got the short end of the fucking stick!"

Victor's brows rose in shock. He felt his heart pang. He walked over to Lea, dropping down carefully on the bed beside her. Their thighs touched as Victor looked at Lea. She didn't return his gaze, so he put a claw on her chin, and turned her to face him. Her icy sapphire eyes met his stormy gray, and only then did he speak.

"Kitten, you really are blind," he sighed. "I wouldn't want anyone but you for my mate. You're what female ferals _should_ be. Strong. In tune with her instincts. Prideful. Challenging. And absolutely fucking gorgeous."

His sudden confess, while completely out of character, made her fall silent. She actually felt touched by his words, and for a moment, she felt as if she returned his claimed feelings. For a moment, that is. Her mood shifted when she felt his hand, which was on her back, began sliding towards her ass. She inhaled sharply before punching him in the jaw.

"Can you fucking restrain yourself for five damn minutes?!" she snapped.

She pushed off the bed, and walked over to the couch. Her bags were picked up with ease, and she began to stuff the clothing into the drawers of her dresser. She felt her skin heat up with anger, and her throat burned from that amount of growling she had done that day. Her ears picked up on him walking over to her, which caused her to push the drawer shut, then turned to face him.

"What?!"

"Shut up," Victor ordered, throwing her over his shoulder. He carried her back to the bed and dropped her onto it. He put his weight on her as he covered her with his body, keeping her pinned down. "Don't you get tired of being mad all the time?"

"Gimme a week, and maybe then I'll be exhausted," she replied, squirming slightly. "Get your fat ass _off_ of me!"

"Say please," he taunted.

Lea let out a low, rumbling growl before having her claws extend. She reached over his shoulder, and embedded her claws into the pressure points of his shoulder blade. She slashed downward, which earned a small hiss from the sudden pain. It sparked a bit of wrestling between the two, with Lea getting the upper hand by letting out a fake whimper.

"You're such an ass," she groaned, brushing her hair off her shoulder as she sat up.

"Quit whining bout it, Kitten. You love it," Victor said, settling beside her.

"You keep telling yourself that," she rolled her eyes. "Can I ask you something?"

"Hm?"

"Does my influence affect you?"

"No," Victor answered. "Alphas can't get overpowered by another."

"But Beast seemed effected by me when I expanded mine," she put in.

"Because you are Roxanne's alpha. Since that furball ain't claim her, she is subjected to obey you. Their bond is strong enough that he can feel your control, but not overpower it," Victor explained.

There was only a hum from Lea as she accepted his answer.


	8. Refocusing

Hey everyone! So… this has been a long time coming.

I'm going to completely stop on continuing this story, and take a step back to review it.

I personally love Lea as she is one of my favorite that I've created. However, I also haven't done her justice while writing her for this story. I had planned to made her a fairly complicated character who a lot of people wouldn't really like at first. Instead, I couldn't maintain a consistent personality for her, and I made her understand things a bit too soon. Overall, I'm just really not happy with how I developed her.

That being said though, I **do** plan on recreating this story and adding more depth, character background, and detail to this story. I made it originally just to show Victor finding Lea, and the two building a relationship, but at the end of the day the story isn't about Victor, it's supposed to be focused more about Lea. I want to show how she progresses as a character, and how her relationships with her family work. Of course, there's still going to be the plot of Victor and Lea in the new story, but I want to focus on Lea's development more so.

I'll be keeping the title for Lea's story as the same, and I won't remove this story until June 4th. The reason for that is because I do plan on uploading _at least_ two or three chapters of the new story on that day. Again, thank you guys so much for the support, and being understanding. I really hope you follow the new story as well as give feedback on what you think.


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